THE NE,W YORKER Secost, aNew Jersey shore resort. His father, a dour widower, reacts to the news of his son's approaching début by emptying their New York CIty apart- ment and moving to Florida, cutting off any easy retreat for his awkward, vul- nerable boy The boy, surprisingly, surVIves. Bongo knows very little about the the- atre and not much about life; he is a natural patsy but also a natural learner . Some of the characters in the book take advantage of him, but his producer's wife teaches him acting. She is a retired first lady of the stage who is trying to reclaim her husband, and since she has no idea how to he anything-only how to act it-she rehearses acting tender and womanly b) coaching Bongo. He is worth her efforts; he has a flair for comedy, and presently the stooge starts stealing laughs from the top banana. While Bongo uses his clumsiness artful- ly onstage, offstage he remains plain uncoördinated-so uncoördinated, in fact, that he becomes the involuntary agent of catastrophe. He accidentally starts a free-for-all between the gentle- men of Secost and the players of the op- eretta troupe, and that prematurely ends the season. The producer, insolvent, returns to his rich wife, while Bongo returns to New York and, as the old actress enviously remarks, heads on to- ward the year 2000. Mr. Grisman makes no predictions about Bongo's future, hut he hds stood on d stdge and made an audIence respond; he is becom- ing an actor and probably a man, and we are entitled to be hopeful. Bongo the character IS working pri- marily for laughs, and "Bongo" the novel often gets them. .Lt\t times, how- ever, the book is distracted by themes 1 ke the emotional failures of successful theatre people and the difficulty of com- 111 unicdtion between generations, and on these excursions it occasionally becumes sentimental. Still, Mr. Grisman's prose is dependable. At its least funny it con- sistently wins the pleased smile of recog- nition that we award to something that is right. -NAOMI BLIVEN ßRIEFL Y NOTED FIC TION A BURNT-OUT CASE, by Graham Greene (Viking). A romantic novel. The setting is a Catholic mission and leprosery in the BelgIan Congo bush, and the story has to do with a world- famous ecclesiastical architect who, ha ving discarded his mistress, hIS faith, and his profession, seeks to bury himself there, which he does-only 169 \ Charles Dickens was an eminent patron of Justerini & Brooks who have been purveyors of fine wines and spirits for over two centuries. Today this celebrated house is famous for a standard of quality that has brought good cheer and good fellowship to every corner of the world. Try the famous J & B Rare Scotch, of flavour unsurpassed. eX\X\\es more in cost \Nor IdS' apart in qua\it '" '" " " , '$ " "" ...'>. t k J i Q 'þ i' "" i! , r\,, . .,., 00 .... Îji " ,,- -\: . ' " . - <;... . . <' ., í . ' S)"" . . . . \"..p<- ;-". t I. , .... o . ' . . ($. " Of .t.. 'bP ! . lVI I & -> o . ,c-'" # """,, "'..&; ..;rÆ"" -- . .". RARE SCOTCH WHISKY "World's Finest" 86 Proof Blended Scotch WhiskY e 2a!Jé %/ eFn r Exquisite miniature tableau delicately hand-carved in Bavarian pine by old-world craftsmen of Oberammergau, site of the Passion Play. A Plummer- exclusive... a charming and out-of-the- ordinary Easter gift! Base, 4" long; case, 1 Y2" x 2 Y2" high, $16. M ail and phone orders promptly filled-ST 4-5625 -,.' An enticing collection of stories by ., . 0) <c-.:' .>>". .: JI, _l Penelope Mortimer .:'''''',:" '"' . One of England's finest > ., short story writers. Many .<- of the stories in this . .. book appeared origi- t nally in The New Yorker. SATURDAY LUNCH WITH THE BROWNINGS $3.95 McGRAW-Hill $' , " y w> ' .: JV\, . ,JA ,f "W 4 ,.,Jo- t ...... , , '" Eel Imported by THE PAÐDtNGTON CORP 'J 630 Fifth Avenue New York 20 t7n 76-Ummt1r.d L TO New York 19 WESTCHESTER: WHITE PLAINS ROAD AT WILMOT IL -' --- --- '''n SMART VELlERS AlWAYS CA:RY . rnw k1 EUROPEAN TRAVEL ' \\\.'t\" \ UIDE \ t\\\\\ \\\ C; .? "..,\\_ . ..' '" 1961-1962 EDITION \\\ "Still the only omnibus --- guide to all Western Europe of any solid value to the average American tourist." -N. Y. Herald Tribune (Paris edition) 17 maps · Pocket size · $595 . HARPER